As I mentioned in a previous article “The shipwreck of Kızılburun” a late Hellenistic ship sank near the
promontory of Kızılburun before reaching its destination with its cargo of freshly
quarried marble intended for the Temple
of Apollo in Claros (about 60 kilometers from Kızılburun).
Among the many remains and
artifacts, divers found eight drums for an entire ten-meter-high column and its
capital in Doric style, although at that time (late 2nd or 1st century BC)
builders generally preferred Ionic or Corinthian columns.
[Picture from Hurriyet Daily News]
It was a colossal task to raise the massive
marble column drums, each weighing between 6.5 and 7.5 tons. A system was
developed whereby nylon straps were put around the drum and then attached to
heavy-duty balloons.
The column elements indicated that they were
destined for a monumental construction and after serious investigations, archaeologists
could link them with the nearby Temple of Apollo at Claros. When I was in Claros
a few years ago, I was utterly amazed by the size of one of the drums lying in
the grass and I took a picture of it, leaving my camera cover on top to show
the sheer size!
By now a team of archaeologists has carried
out work to determine the place of the column in the correct layout of the temple and
they found that it was the sixth column. The initial idea was
to move this column to the nearby museum but it was much more appropriate to
put it in its rightful place. And so it happened: delivery was finally made,
only 2,200 years later.
Isn’t that exciting?
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